From the Introduction to
The Teacher Who Ate Her Pet and Other True Stories by 32 People Like Youby Nancy Seubert, Editor
In the fall of 1995, I put together a community education class called "Life Stories: Writing Your Memoirs," which I have offered in Lansing, Michigan every fall, winter, and spring for the past ten years. All of the writers represented in this book have been through at least one eight-week session -- and some have been through quite a few. Rayl Conyers, who enrolled in that first class in October, 1995, has attended every session since then. He is now ninety.
Most of the writers who have passed through our classroom have not yet achieved Rayl's seniority. About half are in our seventies and eighties and about half are in our fifties and sixties. We are farmers, psychologists, psychotherapists, educators, housewives, social workers, police officers, business people, entertainers, missionaries, and nurses. A number of writers are emigrants from other countries. In The Teacher Who Ate Her Pet, we have stories from Cuba, Italy, Germany, Puerto Rico, Korea, and the Philippines. Some of us are flaming liberals and some of us are dyed-in-the-wool conservatives. We are evangelicals and atheists, able-bodied and living with disabilities, widowed, divorced, married, and single.
The rich diversity of experiences reflects quite different, often opposing, viewpoints and patterns of thinking. In some social situations, that can be a problem. But when you are writing memoirs, you don't introduce yourself with a label, a title, or a philosophical position. You begin with a story. Story is the great builder of bridges. Story-telling benefits from diversity and makes the most of diversity.
Although the Life Stories class is designed for non-professional writers, many talented writers have been through the class, some with a yearning to publish. In 2004, I invited all of the writers to publish a book of our favorite memoirs. I proposed that we divide among us the expense, the page space, the work of putting the book together, the printed books, and the profits from any sales. If ten people said they were interested, I said I would guide the boat to shore.
Thirty-two people were willing to risk $500 upfront. The Teacher Who Ate Her Pet and Other True Stories by 32 People Like You is the compilation of our favorite memoirs.
Writing your memoirs is not a static event. You are changed by it. Story is not fixed and unchanging, but dynamic and interactive. If you understand this, you will not be disillusioned if a writer tells you he could have told the story another way or she merged two things that did not occupy the same time frame in her life.
I urge you to turn the page and begin reading the book. You will meet fascinating people here who share openly what is most important to them. We are like you and we are different, too.
The Teacher Who Ate Her Pet reflects the wide range of experiences of its diverse authors. It also demonstrates a variety of writing styles. One writer has the gift of dialogue, another has the ability to build tension, another offers a sense of humor, another can describe a situation so that you feel like you are there. You may find that you resonate with one author more than another, or with one of an author's stories more than another story. Our book is part of a spiraling process of self-discovery and integration. The authors and the particular stories are in different places in that process.
Each of the thirty-two authors has included a tip based on her or his experience writing memoirs. When you are finished reading the book, it is our hope that you will begin writing your own memoirs.
Nancy Seubert, Editor